The Rancher's Family Secret

by Myra Johnson

  It had everything to do with the chance to spend more time with her.

  A few minutes later, they sat at Audra’s kitchen table, the tangy-sweet aroma of apple cider wafting from two ceramic mugs. Audra set a plate of molasses cookies between them, then patted Spencer on the shoulder. “My mother’s recipe. Lindsey’s dad and I used to polish them off faster than she could refill the cookie jar.”

  Spencer sampled one, the dark, delicious treat practically melting in his mouth. Savoring the sweetness, he nodded his approval. “Even better than your pumpkin bread, and I had to fight off both my parents to claim the last slice.”

  Audra beamed as if the compliment had made her day. “Help yourself to all you want, and there’s more cider, too. I’ll be in the living room if y’all need anything else.”

  “We’ll be fine,” Lindsey reassured. “You were out at the crack of dawn doing barn chores, then bustling around the kitchen all morning. Go take it easy for a while.”

  As Audra’s footsteps faded, Spencer cast Lindsey a concerned frown. “She looks thinner every time I see her.”

  “I know. It’s all the worry and stress. She cooks like she’s feeding an army and then hardly eats a bite.” Lindsey rose to fetch a pen and legal pad from the built-in desk. “Okay, let’s talk about your money questions.”

  Her directness caught him off guard. “Afraid I don’t even know what questions to ask.”

  Laughing softly, she shook her head. “Oh, Spencer, you’ve always had such a big heart. But your knack for strategic planning? Not so great.”

  He could easily have taken offense, but she was right. When they used to play Mastermind or Battleship as kids, he’d never been able to beat either his brother or Lindsey. After a round or two, he usually gave up and went outside to talk to the horses. “All right, I’m listening. Where do I start?”

  “You mentioned forming a nonprofit, which requires some paperwork, including filing for tax-exempt status with the state comptroller. I’m sure I could prevail upon Audra’s attorney to help you with that. Unless you have your own, of course.”

  Glancing in the direction of the Navarro ranch, he frowned. “Probably better if I keep my dealings separate from my dad’s.”

  “Right.” Lindsey gave a brisk nod. “Once your nonprofit is established, you’ll be able to solicit donations and even recruit volunteers if you need extra help. Be aware, though, you’ll have to maintain meticulous records to keep the government entities happy. Are you ready for that kind of commitment?”

  “I’m committed to saving horses, so I’m willing to learn.” With a little less confidence, he added, “But I’ll need a good teacher.”

  “Don’t worry, I’m right here,” she said with a light laugh. “We’ll take this one step at a time.”

  With her laptop open to an information page on the Texas Secretary of State website, Lindsey walked him through what establishing a nonprofit entailed. Though most of it was over his head, he could see that the advantages outweighed any reservations he clung to. Then she suggested various ways he could get the word out about his operation and encourage commitments from donors.

  When she brought up the idea of creating a website and blog, his eyes glazed over. “Computers and I aren’t exactly on speaking terms, Linds. Besides, if I’m hunting and pecking at a keyboard, I’m not out there taking care of the horses. Not to mention my father will be even more annoyed that I’m not doing my part with the family business.”

  “Then you’ll need a staff—people to do the office-type work while you handle the horses.” She scribbled on her legal pad again.

  “A staff? You’ve got to be kidding.” Had she missed when he’d said he needed to bring in more money, not find ways to spend what he didn’t have?

  “No, I’m not kidding, Spencer. I’m not talking about full-time employees. You’d start by recruiting a volunteer or two. I could even help you out for a few hours a week until your website generates more interest.”

  Now she was making plans for a website he didn’t have for the nonprofit organization he had yet to form. He pushed back his chair, snatched his mug and stalked to the counter.

  Lindsey sidled up beside him and rinsed her mug in the sink. “I’ve overwhelmed you, haven’t I?”

  “That’s a nice way of putting it.” More like his head was about to explode in a massive mushroom cloud. “I appreciate all your suggestions, but...maybe my dad’s right and I need to quit dividing my time between the quarter horses and fostering rescues.”

  “Your dad.” Lindsey gave her head a disgusted shake. “Your grandfather, too. Have you ever considered following your own dreams instead of toeing the Navarro line? Isn’t that what Samuel did?”

  At the mention of his brother, Spencer stiffened. “Samuel may be my twin, but we couldn’t be more different.”

  “Oh, don’t I know,” she murmured in a tone that snagged something deep in Spencer’s heart. “But if you give up now, think of all the starving or mistreated horses you’d have to turn away. Could you live with yourself?”

  He couldn’t, and that was a huge problem. His chin sank toward his chest.

  “I can help you, Spencer.” She rested her hand on his forearm. “Trust me.”

  He wanted to, he really did. “But what about your aunt? Shouldn’t you be—”

  “Excuse me?” Audra’s voice rang out behind him. “Didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but sounds carry in an old house. And don’t use me as a reason to turn down Lindsey’s advice. If my brilliant niece can wrestle bankers and tax men and insurance companies into submission, helping you fund your horse rescue will be a piece of cake.”

  Glancing at the gloating Lindsey, Spencer couldn’t help laughing. “I have no doubt.”

  “Hey, I know how to blog,” Audra announced with a grin, “so I can be your first volunteer. Or second, since Lindsey’s technically the first.” She moved closer, a pleading smile creasing her lips. “Let me do this, Spencer. I need to feel needed again, and Lindsey says if I don’t stop baking, she’ll have to go keto or join a gym.”

  Lindsey heaved a dramatic sigh. “And believe me, giving up carbs is the last thing I want to do!”

  Cornered by two determined women? He didn’t stand a chance. “Okay, yes, thank you. I appreciate the help. But you have to promise to tell me if there’s anything at all I can do for you—odd jobs, barn chores, whatever.”

  After casting her aunt a questioning look and getting a nod in reply, Lindsey stuck out her hand. “You have a deal.”

  Why did he get the sense there was so much more lurking behind her self-satisfied smile? And why did he feel so guilty for agreeing to this deal when more than likely her efforts to save the ranch would be in vain?

  * * *

  Lindsey wasn’t sure yet about the details, but she definitely planned to hold Spencer to their agreement, because if she had any hopes of keeping the McClement ranch in the family, she’d need all the help she could get.

  “I’ll check with Audra’s attorney to make sure we’re doing everything right to set up your nonprofit,” she said as she followed Spencer to the back door. “In the meantime, I don’t want you losing sleep over creating a website. I have a friend who loves doing that kind of thing.”

  Pausing to glance back, he skewed his jaw. “I can’t pay a website designer.”

  “No worries. It’s kind of a hobby for Joella. She’ll have fun playing around with ideas and building you a landing page.” She spun around to grab the legal pad off the table and wrote her email address, then tore it off and handed it to Spencer. “When you’ve decided on a name for your nonprofit, drop me a note. And do you have photos of any of your rescues?”

  “Yeah, I document each one.”

  “Perfect. Email me several of your best pictures, especially any before-and-after shots. Joella can use them on the website.”

  Tu
cking the paper into his vest pocket, he nodded. “Thanks, Lindsey. I mean it.”

  “My pleasure.” Considering their history, she was more than a little amazed to find herself still so attracted to him. She could stand here all day savoring the entrancing half smile peeking out from beneath his ebony mustache.

  He didn’t give her the chance. Saying he’d better get back to work, he retreated down the porch steps and started across the backyard.

  Too bad his only interest was her brains and business sense. Not that she had time for anything beyond friendship at the moment, or for the foreseeable future. The day was more than half gone, and she still needed to pull together the necessary information for her meeting with Audra’s banker first thing tomorrow. Nearly a dozen phone calls this morning had secured extensions from most of Audra’s creditors. Now Lindsey hoped to arrange a debt consolidation loan—a start, yes, but only a short-term reprieve and unlikely to help much toward paying off the ranch’s back taxes.

  With a ragged sigh, she steeled herself to return to Uncle Charles’s study. Last week, when she’d first pulled up a chair behind the broad oak desk, it almost felt like trespassing. She’d never forget the many times as a child she’d peeked in to ask her uncle one thing or another, or just to hang out, and he’d pause his work to smile across the desk from his wheelchair. Uncle Charles had been more of a father to her than her real father ever had.

  Seated at the desk, she picked up the most recent notice from the county, this one stating a tax sale would be held on March 1 unless property taxes were paid in full before then. How would she ever pull together that much money in less than three months? Memories of Uncle Charles, bitterness toward her absent father, her mounting fear of forfeiting the McClement ranching legacy to a perfect stranger—the weight of it all threatened to smother her.

  In a sudden burst of anger, she yanked her cell phone from her pocket. Her father held half ownership in the ranch, and whether he cared to claim it or not, how dare he ignore his sister’s struggles? Scrolling through her contacts, she found the seldom-used number and pressed the call icon.

  She’d almost convinced herself not to go through with the call when he answered. “Lindsey? Is that you?”

  “Hello, Dad.” Her throat ached with the effort it took to speak those two words. But now that she had him on the line, she may as well continue. “I’m at Audra’s.”

  Silence. Then, “How is she?”

  “If you’d bothered to come to your brother-in-law’s funeral, you might have a clue.”

  “I thought about it. I wanted to. But I was...busy that weekend.” Code for Being with my girlfriend was more important—and besides, you know your mother and I can’t occupy the same space.

  Lindsey waved a hand. “Water under the bridge at this point. I thought you should know the ranch is in trouble. Audra could really use your help.”

  He huffed a harsh breath. “Linds, I—”

  “I don’t expect you to show up and start herding cattle or hauling hay.” She massaged her forehead. This call was a mistake. “You know what? Forget I said anything.” She clicked off.

  Audra appeared in the doorway. “You called your dad, didn’t you?” Her lips settled into an apologetic frown. “Oh, honey, I should have told you. I’ve already talked to him.”

  “You have? When?”

  “It was the day before you arrived. I’d gotten a call from someone representing a private corporation interested in buying me out. I owed it to your father to at least make him aware.”

  Lindsey wasn’t sure which upset her more—that Audra had failed to mention the potential buyer or that she’d gone straight to Lindsey’s do-nothing dad with the offer. “I don’t even have to guess what his reaction was.” She clenched her fist around the pencil she’d been holding. “What I don’t understand is why you waited so long to tell me.”

  Her gaze pleading, Audra sank into the nearest chair. “Because I wanted to get your honest, unbiased perspective first about whether you thought there was even the slightest chance of keeping the ranch.”

  “I’m doing everything I can to make sure of it. And unbiased? I couldn’t possibly be more biased!” Tears formed in Lindsey’s eyes. “This ranch means everything to me.”

  “I know it does, and you know I feel the same way. Which is why I told your dad we needed to hold out a little longer before we even consider selling. Besides,” Audra went on with a sardonic smile, “the offer was insultingly lowball, a greedy attempt to steal the ranch out from under me.”

  Anger subsiding, Lindsey released a relieved chuckle. “Not happening on my watch.”

  “And I love you all the more for caring so much.” Inhaling deeply, Audra rose and extended a hand toward Lindsey. “Come on, young lady, enough brooding over the state of my finances for today. A cold front’s blowing in overnight, and I can look after the cows better if we move them to one of the near pastures. You can ride Flash.”

  “Uncle Charles’s horse? But I—”

  “No buts. The sun won’t be up much longer. Grab your boots and jacket.”

  With no chance for further argument, Lindsey obeyed. In the barn fifteen minutes later, she had Uncle Charles’s handsome sixteen-hand sorrel clipped to the cross ties behind Skeeter, Audra’s dun mare. Following Audra into the tack room, she muttered, “Hope I remember how to cinch a saddle.”

  Audra smirked over her shoulder. “After all the summers you spent here as a kid? No worries. Trust your muscle memory.”

  Her aunt was right. All it took was starting the cinch strap through the ring, and the rest came naturally. She gave Flash a few minutes to get used to the idea of being under saddle again while she slipped on his bridle. With the stirrups adjusted, she tightened the cinch, then walked Flash outside to the old tree stump Audra used as a mounting block.

  Her aunt had already mounted and watched as Lindsey stretched her leg over the tall horse and hauled herself into the saddle. After settling her feet into the stirrups, Lindsey gathered the reins. “Hey, I did it!”

  “Lookin’ good up there, sweetie. What did I tell you?” With a laugh, Audra led the way past the barn to the first pasture gate.

  It felt strange and somehow comforting to be riding Uncle Charles’s horse. Lindsey couldn’t help missing her grandparents’ gentle bay gelding she used to ride as a kid, but Sport was already in his late teens back then, and Audra had written a couple of years ago that he’d suffered a bad bout of colic and she’d had to put him down. Though Flash was as calm as Sport and even smarter, the view from Flash’s saddle made the ground seem so much farther away.

  After they’d passed through two more gates, they came upon fourteen white-faced Herefords, the last of the McClement herd. Lindsey couldn’t keep her thoughts from drifting to happier times when the ranch was thriving. Close to two hundred head of cattle had once roamed the hilly pastures, and Grandpa had been so proud of Old Jack, his prize bull.

  Circling Skeeter around behind the herd, Audra whistled and waved her lariat to get the cows moving toward the open gate. Lindsey mainly tried to stay out of the way while keeping an eye out for any cows making a break in the opposite direction.

  Then one did and Audra shouted, “Keep ’em moving forward, Linds. I’ve got to chase down that confounded heifer.”

  Great. Herding cattle was way outside Lindsey’s realm of expertise. At least Flash seemed to know his job, so Lindsey slacked up on the reins and gave him his head. His sharp back-and-forth maneuvers quickly had her clutching the saddle horn and praying she wouldn’t get thrown. Would Audra ever get back with the runaway cow?

  “Need some help?”

  She raised her head to see Spencer riding through the gate. At the same moment, Flash jigged to the left and her boot slipped out of the stirrup. Just as she felt herself sliding off on the right, Spencer rode up beside her, steadying her with a grip on her elbow.
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  Once she’d regained her seat, he released her arm. “You okay?”

  “Yeah, thanks.” She whooshed out a breath, relieved to see the bawling cows were closing ranks and making their way toward the next pasture. With Flash back under her control, she gave her full attention to Spencer. “What are you doing here?”

  “Heard the weather report about the time I saw you and Audra ride out. Figured you were bringing in the herd and wanted to make sure you managed okay.”

  “We’re managing just fine.” Lindsey gave an embarrassed grin. “Can’t you tell?”

  Just then, the feisty red heifer trotted past and nosed in at the rear of the herd pushing through the gate. Audra reined Skeeter to a halt on Lindsey’s other side. “Good work, Linds. Hi, Spencer. Nice of you to lend a hand.”

  He tipped his hat. “Didn’t do a thing.”

  Except ride up like my knight in shining armor to keep me from landing on my rear. Attention fixed on the cows, Lindsey clucked to her horse. “Better get ’em through and close the gate before they change their minds.”

  * * *

  Spunky and independent as ever. Spencer adjusted his Stetson, then took up drag position as Lindsey and Audra drove the herd through the next pasture and into a smaller one behind the barn. After closing the last gate, he rode alongside Audra. “Anything else I can do to help?”

  “We can take it from here, but thank you.” The woman offered a quick smile, her attention on the lowing cattle. “Lindsey, go on to the barn with Flash. I’ll be along soon as I fill the water trough and toss out some hay for these girls.”

  Spencer exchanged a look with Lindsey, her pursed lips communicating their shared misgivings about leaving Audra to finish on her own. He turned back toward Audra. “I can sling hay for you. Those bales can get pretty heavy.”

  She’d already dismounted and was securing her horse to the fence rail. Shoulders stiffening, she turned. “You’re a gentleman to offer, but if I can’t manage my cattle by myself, then what’s the point—” Her lips trembled, and she covered her mouth with her hand.